Seizure
by The Auburn Girl
Summary: Peter wasn't the only one taken that fateful night. To Yondu, she was another pawn to move around the chessboard, but to Peter, she was everything. Follows movie. Peter/OC
1. Prologue

_Author's Note: So I have taken the plunge, and am sort of testing the waters here (so to speak). Before the movie, I'd never heard of Peter Quill or Marvel's comics "Guardians of the Galaxy". Basically, I'm new to this universe and fandom, and I'm still learning, so please be nice! If I make mistakes, feel free to tell me (nicely though!). I've never written a proper OC before, so hopefully she doesn't turn out to be a Mary Sue; I shudder at the thought! I know she's young and she takes everything kind of easily, but she is a kid with an imagination. In her situation, she'll take anything, and to her, anything's possible. More will become clear as the story progresses and you'll find that she's quite special and has a role to play in the movie-verse. This story will be slightly-AU but will stick closely to the movie. _

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Prologue

Rain pelted her face as she ran in the darkness, guided only by her flashlight. It illuminated the surrounding forest, and she caught glimpses of wet undergrowth and scary looking trees that caused her to shriek. She whipped her light from side to side. After a moment, she decided to go left through a copse of trees and keep sprinting, but in her haste, she tripped over a thick root and face-planted to the forest floor.

She let out a low cry and buried her face in the dirt. It would probably be better if she stayed there, freezing under the spray of the cold rain. _They _would search for her and bring her back to her father. Back to that _prison_. But then he'd never let her go again and she couldn't stand that place for another minute.

Steeling herself, she raised her head and realized she'd tripped into a valley. The open area descended gradually to a wide stream she assumed bordered her father's estate. Maybe if she made it across they'd lose track of her footprints.

With strength she didn't know she possessed, she got to her feet and jogged down the field. Her flashlight flickered on and off as the sound of rushing water came closer, and she squinted in the darkness, searching for the steam.

"Oh no..." she breathed, her eyes widening.

The water level of the stream had risen significantly due to the storm. When the water should have been calm and easy to cross, it was now swift and threatening. There was no way she could cross without slipping and being swept away with the current. She was trapped.

"No, no, no, no, no!" She threw her flashlight to the ground and immediately regretted it because the light died. "Great!" she screamed to the heavens. "Just great! Now what am I going to do?" She sat down hard on the wet ground and cried. This was her only chance to get away. There wouldn't be another opportunity like this, and because of the stupid weather, she was stuck.

Yet just when she was about to give in, a strange sound caught her attention. It was like the low hum of a vehicle but magnified by ten. She raised her head, listening for the noise, and flinched when a blinding white light cut off her vision. Her eyes went to the sky, and what she saw made her scream. A _spaceship_ hovered directly above her. White beams of light radiated off of it and she was forced to close her eyes against their glare.

Suddenly, the lights vanished and she landed on a hard floor. Her scream died in her throat. For a moment, she was stunned, but when she opened her eyes, she scrambled to her feet.

She was in a loading bay of some sort. There were metal containers stacked against one wall and baskets filled with something colorful against the other. But that was not what caught her attention. The enhanced technology—the powerful lights, glowing buttons, and sleek objects—were what made her mouth fall open. It hit her then. She was _inside _the spaceship.

She'd been _abducted by aliens_.

Someone was speaking. "Really, Yondu? _Another one_? That's two in one night!"

There was a loud thump and the original voice cried out in indignation. "Shut it!" a gruff, southern-sounding accent responded. "What I do is my own business, and I have plans for both of 'em!"

"You didn't need to hit me!" the other whined.

"Suck it up, big boy! She's more important to me than the boy, anyway."

The voices grew louder and more heated until they were outside the hanger she'd found herself in. One of the main doors stationed at the head of the bay opened with a hiss and she was greeted by the sight of a blue man trailed by a lanky man dressed in odd clothing.

"Well, well, well... What have we here?" the blue man said, giving her a toothy grin that sent shivers of fear down her spine. Her heart pounded in her ears and she felt faint while she eyed the man. He had red eyes and something was imbedded into his skull, like a buzzed mohawk gone wrong. And if he was an alien like she thought he was, her whole world had just been turned upside down. She'd thought aliens and spaceships didn't exist, and was almost overwhelmed by the quick turn of events. "What'cha doing out in the rain, sweetheart?" the blue man pressed, sauntering closer.

She ignored his question and forced herself to ask a few of her own. "Where am I? What are you going to do with me?"

He laughed at her fake courage. "We'll get to that. What's your name? I promise I don't bite."

She narrowed her eyes at him, acutely aware that her hair was a rat's nest and her clothes were a mess; a bunny would look more threatening than her in her current state. Could she lie to this...this alien? Or would he tell she was lying? After a moment's hesitation, she decided on the truth. "Amelia... My name is Amelia."

"Some lousy name," the blue man joked, grinning now. "Mine's Yondu Udonta."

She couldn't stop herself. "And you're calling _my_ name lousy?" she asked.

Yondu laughed and slapped his thigh while the man beside him lost it in a fit of giggles. "I like this one!" Yondu announced. "Much better than that quiet pip-squeak." He turned to his partner. "Burik, go get Peter."

The man Amelia guessed was named Burik left the hanger, and she was puzzled by the normal name 'Peter'. It didn't sound like an alien's name. Speaking of which...she studied Yondu closely. "So you're...you're an alien? Like an extraterrestrial?"

Yondu smirked, flashing his crooked teeth. "The universe don't revolve around Earth, sweetheart. Of course there are other empires out there in the galaxies. I'll show you 'em 'cause you're coming with us. I'll teach you how to pilot a spaceship and travel through space. I've got big things planned for you."

"...You mean you're taking me from Earth?" Amelia asked breathlessly. This was all surreal, like she was dreaming, but if it _was _real, she couldn't believe her luck. Her mother had told her bedtimes stories about aliens and planets that operated in the galaxies. As a child, she'd thought they were true, until her father put a stop to them and said they were just stories. Now, she was happy he'd been wrong.

"Am I speaking a different language here?" Yondu asked sarcastically.

Amelia couldn't hold back her smile. In her mind, she hadn't been abducted; she'd been rescued. The bedtime stories were real and she was going to travel beyond her father's reach. She was going to travel through space! She might have been crazy for thinking so, but she was happy. However, her bubble of happiness popped when a boy around the same age as her was dragged into the hanger by Burik.

Tears streamed down the boy's cheeks as he stared down at his feet, but when he lifted his eyes and met hers, he froze. His cheeks flushed in embarrassment for being caught crying by a girl, and he quickly wiped his face with his sleeve. A hiccup escaped him, making the scene worse. He looked unscathed, but even so, Amelia thought he appeared worse-off than her. She frowned. "You okay?" she wondered with the subtly of a nine year-old. The boy shook his head, clearly uncomfortable in the presence of the two aliens. He sniffed, looking terrified, but kept his eyes firmly on Amelia as if she were his lifeline. "I'm Amelia," she said, offering him her hand.

Yondu and Burik watched silently as Peter weakly shook her hand. "P—Peter Q—Quill," he stuttered.

Up close, she noticed he had headphones around his neck. Upon closer inspection, she realized they were attached to a handheld cassette player that was tightly clutched in his other hand. "Nice cassette player."

Peter said nothing. He bowed his head and stood stiffly when Yondu clapped him on the back. The clap reverberated around the chamber. "You two are gonna get along nicely. Better get used to each other; you're all you both got for now. And there's no use trying to run away," he warned them. He glanced back to his alien partner and jerked his head toward another doorway. "Burik, take 'em to their new quarters while I set a course for Centauri-IV. It's time to go home."

"But boss—" Burik started to complain. He gestured purposefully to Peter and Amelia, and it was then when Amelia realized there was more going on than she'd originally thought. Why had they picked her and Peter of all people? They'd said something about her earlier—about her being important... What did that even mean?

"Do it!" Yondu snarled dangerously. Before Amelia could ask him more questions, he smiled widely at her and Peter, and left.

Burik grumbled under his breath in another language, and then led them down narrow, maze-like passageways. The ship and its walls were made of a metal Amelia had never seen before and she found herself distracted by the metal's foreign designs. Peter wasn't interested; he kept his head down and his hands on his cassette player.

When they reached their designated living area, Burik pushed them both inside and left them with a warning not to leave their rooms. Apparently, if they got lost on the ship, it was on them to find their way around.

Their rooms were plain and simple, with built-in beds and dressers. They contained all of the bare necessities, but other than that, there was nothing more enticing to Amelia's eye. Of the whole spaceship, their quarters appeared to be the most boring. Amelia found herself itching to explore the rest of the ship, but when she made to push the button that opened the main door, she heard Peter crying in his bedroom. The sleek door to his room was closed, but with a quick tap on a pad beside it, it slid open and she stepped inside.

Peter lay on his side, facing away from the doorway. He paused in his sniffles when she entered, but didn't turn around when she sat down on the edge. Feeling awful for not knowing what his story was, Amelia did the only thing she could do. She placed her hand on his arm to comfort him. He froze under her touch.

"I'm sorry," Amelia whispered, not sure what she was apologizing for but doing it nonetheless.

He didn't respond but, slowly, he relaxed under her touch as the seconds dragged on.

Amelia smiled to herself.

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That was how it all began.

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**_Feedback is greatly appreciated! Thanks for reading. _**


	2. Chapter 1

_A/N: Thanks for all the reviews, favorites, and follows! I decided to stick close to the movie and skip 26 years. Peter and Amelia's 'relationship' right now is nonexistent in terms of romance. You'll see more of their relationship progress as the story heads more into the movie and Peter realizes what he's been missing all along. This chapter is sort of a second introduction to Amelia, and you get to see some Peter/Amelia interaction. Lia=Amelia (it's a nickname). Also, there's some sexual content near the end of the chapter (very little, I swear)._

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Chapter One

_-26 Years Later-_

"Peter, no! _Hell_ no!"

"Aw cool it, Lia. She's just staying the night."

"There's no way I'm cleaning up after you and your one-night bimbo again. No. Way."

Peter offered a sheepish smile to the pink-skinned, Krylorian woman below him who standing beside the small spacecraft. "Give me a minute," he told her, ignoring her returning glare. "I'll be right back." He ran up the wing of the ship and slid through the cockpit's open window panel. There, sitting in the co-pilot's chair and facing him with her arms crossed in front of her, was Amelia.

Her blue eyes narrowed at him. "Don't even think about it, Mister. Yondu's got us on this mission and you can't be distracted. The quicker we get that orb, the faster our job gets done, and I'd rather _not _have Yondu breathing down our necks this time." Peter gave her his signature smirk and then immediately jumped to the big guns by making a puppy-dog face. His stubble was a little overdone, as if he was going for ruggedly handsome, and Amelia wanted to roll her eyes. He must've planned this out; no airheaded girl could resist his looks. But she wasn't just any girl. "Not _this _time, Peter. I've put up with too much as it is. Do you know why I always wear shoes on this ship? Because I know what sometimes takes place on these floors," she said, pointing at the metal ground.

Peter pressed a button and leaned against the panel after it closed. "You know we'll get the job done, Lia. We always do, and besides, Yondu can learn a thing or two about patience. It takes time to retrieve delicate space-artifacts," he said smugly.

Amelia raised a dark eyebrow at him. "Space-artifacts that literally take thirty minutes at the most to recover?" she deadpanned. That caused him to bite his lip and look back over his shoulder, through the window panel, at Bereet.

"We're dating, and I wouldn't be a gentleman if I left her out there in the dark now, would I?"

Scoffing, Amelia stood and walked downstairs, towards their common area. He wasn't going to give up that easily, however. He followed her into the decent-sized room as she harped over her shoulder, "If you call all your one-night stands 'relationships', then you've had a shit-load of girlfriends, Peter."

Peter grinned and gently tugged on her high ponytail. "Please, Lia?"

"Knock it off, Peter. I'm serious."

"Pleeease?"

"No!"

"I'll take you to Xandar." She paused for a split-second, silently cursing him. Going to Xandar was one of her guilty pleasures because she loved to visit and study the Nova Corps' flight patterns and battle tactics. It was her dream to join the Corps, so it was a shame she'd been incarcerated a few times with Peter in the past. Her record was not—by any means—clean.

"Fine... But she better be off _Milano_ when we head to Morag."

"Thanks, Lia," Peter said, smiling. "Aaaaand, you might want to close your door tonight." He used his forefinger and thumb to make a tiny space between them. "It's going to be a _little_ loud."

"Ugh, you're so gross, Peter. How have I managed to live with you all these years?" Amelia asked, shuddering while she uncapped a fizzy, alcoholic drink they'd bought off Centauri-IV weeks ago.

"Because we've been together since the beginning," Peter answered teasingly before heading back up into the cockpit in order to bring Bereet inside.

Amelia watched him go. She sipped idly at her beverage and pictured the eight year-old Peter she'd met twenty-six years ago when Yondu rescued her. The cocky, wise-ass hunk of muscle was nothing like the little, timid boy she'd first spoken to. Peter had grown in those years, quickly aging into a man in his prime. Of course, those years hadn't gone by fast. It had been funny watching Peter change from a boy into a rebellious teenager and then become the man he was today. They'd gone through puberty together, and he often reminded her how much he got a kick out of her experience with acne. _That _had been horrible.

Yondu had kept true to his word; he'd raised them to be quick on their feet, navigate the galaxy, and pilot numerous spacecrafts. They'd learned early on that he was the leader of an intergalactic group called the Ravagers. The Ravagers consisted of thieves, pirates, and smugglers, and as children, Amelia and Peter had been drawn to their rule-breaking culture. They'd run wild and answered only to Yondu, who they'd considered their father figure at the time. He still was, in many aspects, but they'd been out of his ship for several years, and both Amelia and Peter thought him to be a friend now more than anything. He'd given them an adventure of a lifetime by showing them the galaxy.

There had been some close calls over the years, though. When Peter was twelve and Amelia was thirteen, Yondu let them pilot one of the Ravager's smuggler vessels, which resulted in them nearly flying into a wormhole. Yondu hadn't been happy about that. Then there was that time Amelia got on the bad side of a Krylorian smuggler and that had nearly resulted in a Krylorian-Ravager War. Luckily, the Krylorian was appeased by the amount of rare mineral they'd given him in exchange for peace. Yondu had been livid with Amelia for months afterwards.

"You'd better be worth all this in the end, sweetheart," he'd told her.

She'd merely assumed he meant her worth as a pilot, but there were times when she thought back to her first night aboard Yondu's spaceship. He'd said she was important, more so than Peter, and she hadn't been able to squeeze any answers out of him in the passing years about the meaning behind his words.

Peter had thought she was paranoid. He'd said Yondu liked playing with her thoughts and that he wasn't to be taken seriously. He'd promised not to let anything happen to her. And, as a result of that promise, they'd decided to hunt for precious space-artifacts together aboard their very own spacecraft: the _Milano_. Yet the promise wasn't the only reason they'd stuck together. They were best friends. Peter was right when he said they'd been together since the beginning—since the night she had comforted him. Growing up, they did everything together. Yondu made sure they learned the same things at the same time, so they were always challenging each other. They'd fought at times, but at the heart of their relationship as friends, was their affection for each other.

Amelia pulled herself from her thoughts when she heard Peter walk back inside the ship and come downstairs. This time, he had Bereet in hand. She was beautiful, with curly green hair and fuchsia-colored skin, and she was dressed scantily, like all the other women Peter brought onboard. Amelia was not impressed. "You must be Bereet," she said evenly, trying not to sound (God forbid) jealous.

Bereet's yellow eyes met hers. "And you're Lia. I've heard much about you," she answered, voice too light considering Amelia had called her a 'one-night bimbo' not five minutes ago.

"Well, Peter _does _like to talk a lot about the womenin his life, but I haven't heard much about you."

Peter's eyes widened and he drew his finger back and forth frantically over his throat, silently telling her to stop talking. "Stop it!" he mouthed, and then out loud, he said smoothly, "Let me give you a tour, while _Lia _checks the ship's engine like she's supposed to."

Bereet didn't hide her glare as she allowed Peter to steer her out of the common area and into his personal setup, where his bed and built-in cassette player were. He shot half-hearted warnings at Amelia with his eyes as he did so. She got the message, and walked down a narrow corridor that led to the engine room. They'd discussed refining the main engine in a way that allowed the flow of energy to increase, thereby raising the overall speed of the _Milano_. They hadn't made much progress though; they were still in the first phase, which consisted of mapping the engine and drawing sketches of what they wanted to alter.

Because Amelia was handy with a tab-pencil, that job was hers. When she finished drawing on her touchpad, Peter would get her all the pieces she required and help her with modifications later. After their trip to Morag, they'd finally have enough money to purchase all of the heavy metal and equipment they needed. Then they'd be able to travel longer distances without stopping at sketchy outposts as often as they normally did.

"The sooner this is over, the better," Amelia sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. She'd been working nonstop for the past few days, trying to finish the pictures and upload all of them into the ship's mainframe so that they would appear on the main touchscreen in the common area.

It irritated her that Peter was with another woman while he should have been helping her, but then again, she shouldn't have expected differently. Peter was perpetually stuck in a phase and that phase consisted of a different girl every night. He was a grown man; he could do whatever he wanted, but it still hurt that he chose to spend his nights with other women instead of spending them with her. "Peter, you're an idiot," she muttered under her breath. She booted up her touchpad and looked over the engine. It hummed quietly since the ship was offline.

Slowly, she drew the engine and highlighted the modifications she wanted to make once they reached phase three. The low thrum of the engine provided a soft lull as she examined every gear.

A crash sounded above her, and Amelia knew Peter had made a move on Bereet. They were probably making out against the common room's table at that very moment. "Great," Amelia groaned, setting down her pad. There were only three ways to handle a situation like this: stay in the engine room until they finished, flee to her bedroom and hope they weren't too loud, or leave the ship entirely. Either way, she was sex-iled.

At first, the third option called to her, but then she thought of all the alien men who'd hit on her if she left the ship, and decided not to leave. She didn't want to stay in the engine room all night either, so that left option two. If she made it to her bedroom, she might be able drown out all the noise with her pillow.

After giving them a few minutes to (hopefully) make it to Peter's room, Amelia walked back upstairs and cautiously poked her head into the common area. What she saw made her eyes widen and her cheeks burn.

Peter had Bereet against a wall, but that was not what drew her attention. His shirt was missing and Bereet, who was only in her underwear, was working his pants down while he cupped her breasts. "Christ, Peter!" Amelia shrieked, mortified. Peter stumbled and grabbed Bereet to him to preserve what was left of her modesty.

"Lia, what—?"

"Get in your damn room," she shouted, pointing to it. He made to protest, but she cut across him, "Now!"

"Dammit, Lia. Way to kill the mood," Peter muttered, leading an annoyed Bereet into his small crib. He pressed a button that caused a dark forcefield to appear and act as a door.

Still blushing, Amelia retreated into her bedroom across from his and hastily shut the door. She buried her face in her hands and sighed. "That could have gone better," she said, closing her eyes. But the image of Peter standing half-naked was burned into the back of her eyes. She'd seen him shirtless before but she'd never witnessed him in the heat of passion. Now she'd never be able to look at him the same way again.

To make matters worse, the mood definitely _hadn't _been killed. They were making _a lot _of noise in there, and she swore she heard Bereet cry out in ecstacy, "Oh, Star-Lord!"

Amelia wanted to laugh and gag at the same time. Instead, she collapsed on top of her bunk and pulled a pillow over her head, and as the night wore on, she felt a bubble of jealous expand in her chest.

She couldn't wait until morning.

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_**I laughed when I wrote "Oh, Star-Lord". **_


	3. Chapter 2

_A/N: Thanks for all the love, guys! I really appreciate it! I'm sorry for the delay but college started back up again, and my classes and ROTC have taken up the majority of my time. I don't know when the next chapter will be up, but I promise the chapters will start to get longer as I move further into the plot. I don't have a beta for this story, so if there are mistakes, I apologize. Enjoy! _

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"Rise and shine, Lia! We've got a problem!"

"What?" Amelia mumbled, half-awake. She sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes, trying to focus on the man in her doorway. "What time is it?"

Peter didn't answer her and left her door ajar as he ran up the stairs to the cockpit. There were muffled shouts and Amelia stumbled out of her room, anxious to find out what was going on. Disoriented, she carefully made her way up the steps and into the cockpit, where Peter sat in the pilot's chair. He was booting up the _Milano_.

"Peter, what's going on?" Amelia muttered, taking the copilot's seat.

"Look," he answered. He jerked his head to the right, indicating the window panel beside her. There, piling onto the landing zone, was a group of dangerous-looking thugs. They were approaching the ship, and fast.

Amelia whirled on Peter. "What the hell did you do?"

"I might have gotten into a fight with _that _one over there a few nights ago," he said, pointing to the mountain of a man who was leading the group. "I beat him using the Magnetizer, and somehow they found me."

The Magnetizer was the name of the gadget they used in order to disable attackers and people after the same booty because it pulled in the life forms around it for a short period of time. When they'd been young, Amelia had jokingly called it 'the Magnetizer' and the name had stuck. "Peter, that's basically cheating," she sighed, turning to the copilot's console and helping him get the ship online and ready to depart.

Peter looked at her and said in mock offense, "He started it!"

"Just get us out of here," she groaned, too tired to start a fight.

Smiling openly, Peter pulled forward on the thrusters, and the _Milano _shot into the sky. Amelia jerked back into her seat and quietly cursed him because she was sure he did it to unsettle her. He glanced at her and laughed at her expression. "Don't look at me like that." His green eyes then scanned her from the tips of her toes to the top of her head. "Also...you might want to get changed," he added teasingly.

Amelia glanced down at herself and immediately rolled her eyes. She was in one of her long t-shirts that barely covered the tops of her thighs. "It's not like you haven't seen me in a t-shirt before or any other girl in one, for that matter," she shot at him, thinking about Bereet. "Is she gone? Your 'girlfriend'?"

Putting it lightly, Amelia disliked Bereet—not only because she was an intruder on their spaceship but also because, unfortunately for Amelia, the Krylorian hadn't been quiet last night; she was a real screamer.

Peter looked put-off by the mention of the pink-skinned woman. "She left earlier. Hey, about last night..."

Before he could say anything, Amelia sighed. "The next time you decide to sleep with a woman, save the foreplay until after you're in your room. I don't think I can look at you the way same now." She shuddered dramatically, and Peter hid a smile, watching her. He'd been gazing at her more often lately, and she wasn't sure why. She wondered what he was thinking about. "What?"

"Nothing," he said, his eyes glinting in amusement. "Go get changed. We'll be at Morag in a couple of hours and then we can get that orb."

She stood up and tapped his chest. "And then _you _are taking me to Xandar."

"I know. We'll head there right after we get the orb," he said in a neutral tone, not looking directly at her.

There was something off in the way he responded. It was like he wasn't speaking the whole truth, and that confused her. She knew him well enough to sense he was withholding information from her, but she didn't ask; instead, she left the ship's cockpit with an uneasy feeling and decided not to push the issue until later. They had a mission to complete today, and that meant their issues would be set aside until it was done.

It took her less than fifteen minutes to change, brush her teeth, and eat. Her hair was a wild mess, so she chose to put it up in her usual high-ponytail, and she felt much better now that she'd had a bite to eat and was was in a pair of pants and long-sleeved, polyester shirt.

When she checked back with Peter, she found him leaning back in relaxation while he piloted the _Milano_. She hadn't noticed before, but he was already dressed in his normal pants and burgundy leather jacket; his combat boots (as he liked to call them) were on his feet as well. "You're just going out in that? It'll be raining, Peter," she told him, frowning. Morag was known for its torrential downpours, powerful winds, and mighty geysers when its sea lowered.

Peter glanced back at her. "I'll be wearing the trench coat as well. It wouldn't do me any good to catch a cold out there working, while you're in here all snuggly and warm," he said, smirking. He was the only going out on Morag to retrieve the orb, and she was staying on the ship to make sure nothing happened while he was gone.

Amelia took no offense to his playful jibe. She tousled his hair and reclaimed her seat, and that was when a devilish thought had her grinning. She said, her tone reminiscent of Bereet's the previous night, "Oh, Star-Lord! I'm _so_ sorry! It must be _so _hard going out there in the rain."

The smirk died on Peter's face. "You heard that last night?"

"Who wouldn't? She was practically screaming; I think she did it on purpose—to make me jealous or something."

As she said the words, she looked away and out through the panels. They were ascending quickly through the mesosphere and the planet below them had faded into bright colors of aquamarine and titian. Before them was the vast blackness of the galaxy, occasionally disrupted by shimmering stars and distant, glowing planets. The sight caused warmth to settle over her. _This _was her home, her reality. There was nothing that could stop them from traversing the universe, and for a fleeting moment, she thought back to her home on Earth. She thought of how her supposed father had trapped her in the compound that was their home, how he'd always disappeared for weeks on end and then had visited periodically. At the time, she'd known he'd been the member of a thriving company, but she couldn't remember the name...

"Well?"

Peter's voice brought her out of her thoughts, and she turned to look at him. He was staring at her and one of his eyebrows was raised. "Well what?" she wondered, suddenly guarded.

"Did it work? Were you jealous?"

Amelia's heart stopped. How could she have been so dumb? Of course Peter would want to know if Bereet had succeeded; the man loved having his ego stroked. Yet the thought of giving him a hint about her feelings was out of the question, so she said calmly, "No. I was more focused on blocking out the noise with my pillow." There. That was partially true.

Peter didn't respond. He looked away from her with a frown and dedicated himself to flying the _Milano_. He could have programmed the coordinates into the mainframe to save himself the trouble, but Amelia guessed he was thinking. She'd learned early on that, for Peter, flying the ship was therapeutic. It must have been the freedom piloting gave him or the fact that there was no horizon to reach. They could keep going and going and going, and in a way, that was comforting to him. It was comforting to her as well.

They sat in silence for a while, neither of them willing to broach another topic. It gave Amelia ample time to think about the upcoming mission, the orb, Yondu, and most especially: Peter.

They'd been friends for twenty-six years and, during those years, their actions had never progressed beyond those of a platonic relationship. It wasn't until five years ago that Amelia realized she'd fallen in love with Peter. They'd had a close call with a genetically modified smuggler, and she'd nearly had her throat slit by him. Peter had saved her and killed him in self-defense. When she'd cried over the ordeal, he'd held her in his arms; at the time, she had never felt safer than against his chest, with his arms around her, and her head nestled in the crook of his shoulder.

It made her realize what was important and what was not, and to her, Peter was her everything. She'd wanted to tell him, but he had never given her indication that he'd wanted a relationship with her, so she had not pressed him. Besides, all of the women he brought back to the ship only made her more inclined to keep silent. And each time he brought another like Bereet, she felt more wretched than she did before. It was a never-ending cycle she hoped would one day end. The man had the power to crush her heart with his actions and he didn't even know it.

Looking back on it now, she believed she was doomed from the start. He'd captivated her since that first night on Yondu's spacecraft, and if there was one thing she was sure of, it was that fate had brought them together for a reason.

"What will we do after you take me to Xandar?" Amelia asked Peter faintly, tired of the quiet.

Peter blinked and looked away from the moon they were passing. He tapped his finger on the flight stick, careful not to press any buttons. "I'm not sure," he murmured, eyes fixated on her. "What do you want to do?"

Amelia bit her lip and mulled it over. "Maybe venture out into the unknown."

"What about the Ravagers? Yondu?"

"Yondu and the Ravagers can wait."

"Yondu wouldn't be happy about us disappearing."

She chuckled under her breath. "When is he _ever _happy? That man is always seeking something, and I'm tired of being his lackey. I wish he'd settle down with some Centaurian woman."

Peter laughed at the sour expression on her face. "That would be the day, wouldn't it?"

"Mhmm."

"By the way, how are the plans for the engine coming?" he wondered.

"I made a little progress last night, but there is still a lot left to do. I have to finish sketching the plans and upload them into the mainframe..."

She would have pointed out the fact that last night she had been distracted by him and Bereet, but Morag appeared in the distance and drew her attention. Even from her viewpoint, she could see the swirling storms that were brewing beneath the planet's thick atmosphere. It was said Morag was perpetually cursed with bad weather after its people's demise, and Amelia had to agree. The planet's surface had been buried beneath the sea for the past three hundred years. During that time, its sea raged; but when the sea levels lowered and sank beneath the ground, its surface was haunted by cold rain and harsh winds. Not to mention those damn geysers she'd read about.

"There it is," Peter said, steering the _Milano_ with the aid of the coordinates on his screen.

Amelia was struck with a sudden urgency to remind him about everything they'd gone over days ago. "Remember what I said about those geysers and the creatures living on the surface. The rain shouldn't be too bad and the air is mostly breathable but I want you to keep your mask on until you're inside the Temple Vault. I want to be able to communicate with you in case something goes wrong."

Peter smirked at her and tilted his head at her. "You think something will go wrong? I'm Star-Lord, the legendary outlaw!" At her raised eyebrow, he rushed to add, "And you're Lia, my amazing sidekick! With me as the leader and you by my side, nothing can go wrong."

She couldn't stop from rolling her eyes. "Get over yourself, Peter."

They both laughed and shared smiles. "We'll be okay, Lia," Peter said, leaning over to grasp her hand in his warm one. It was one of his rare moments for he didn't often comfort her. "I'll be in and out, just like we planned."

When Amelia peered into his sincere green eyes, she believed him. Yondu had trained them very well, she reminded herself, and Peter had always excelled in weapon handling and hand-to-hand combat. If worst came to worst, the man could get himself out of situations even _she _had to admit where nasty. She had to trust him.

"I trust you," she told him, squeezing his hand.

He released hers and turned back to the front window panel. They were approaching Morag at a decent pace, and once they penetrated its atmosphere, their mission was a go.


	4. Chapter 3

_A/N: Thanks for all the reviews, favorites, and follows! To the anon who basically quoted Mr. Krabs from "SpongeBob SquarePants": you made my week. I debated posting the chapter so late on a Sunday, but I wanted to get it to you guys because you're awesome. I went from memory for this first part, so if there are any major discrepancies between this fic and the movie, I'm sorry. Also, I thought the ending of this chapter was justified, considering everything Lia has gone through up to that point. But don't panic; things will get better and it gives me room for character development. Also, we might see the rest of the Guardians next chapter! _

* * *

They descended through Morag's atmosphere at a decreased speed due to the thick clouds and rain that obstructed their view. Yet, despite the bad weather, Peter maneuvered the spaceship expertly, and with Amelia's help managing the direction of their descent, they soon dipped below the cloud line.

Immediately, they were faced with a hostile environment. Rain lashed even harder against the window panels and a fierce wind momentarily caused the _Milano_ to dip. Below them was the surface of Morag, which contained growing pools of water and jutting rock formations. At the sight, Amelia was reminded of the ocean at low tide, when everything beneath the water was left to heat up in the sun; except, in this case, there was no sun and the ground was still slick with sea water.

"Hellooooo, Morag," Peter said, eyeing the drenched landscape.

"Yeahhh, I don't like this planet one bit," Amelia announced as she pointed to one of the geysers she had warned him about. It spewed and released a turbulent discharge of water about two hundred meters into the sky. "That's what we have to worry about, so be careful when we fly close to the surface."

Peter glanced over at her with a smirk. "Now I see what you meant. You always were careful about everything."

"If that was a compliment, then I'll take it," she answered, smiling in spite of herself. "Now let's get that orb." She looked at the screen on her right. "According to the monitor, the coordinates of the Temple Vault are exactly five kilometers east from this position. Let's keep a decent distance between the geysers and us, and once we get close enough, approach the ground with caution."

Under difference circumstances, Peter might have teased her for her reluctance to go near the geysers, but they were on a mission. He was too focused on flying the ship than making fun of her for being over-cautious. Once everything wound down and they gave the orb to Yondu, Amelia was sure Peter would be merciless, but for now, she was happy he chose to remain silent.

They made quick progress despite the dismal weather. Five kilometers ended up being a piece of cake for the _Milano_ to cover in a short period of time, and they touched down in a relatively flat zone that did not contain geysers. It was about two hundred meters away from the Temple Vault, but the one thing Amelia didn't like about the location was that she couldn't see the crumbling temple from the _Milano_'s position. A few massive rocks blocked her view of it, so she would not be able to watch Peter as he made the trek there. He assured her he'd be fine and that she would be able to track his life form on the main screen if she really wanted to.

Once the ship was placed in hibernation and they made sure everything was in order, they exited the cockpit and descended into the common area. Peter had left his trench coat lying on the main, circular table, and Amelia watched as he picked it up.

"In and out," she reminded him as he slipped it on. She saw him pocket his handheld cassette player and headphones. "Peter, don't get distracted in there."

He smiled at her. "I won't."

"You always do."

"Your faith in me is astounding," he told her sarcastically, chuckling now. His green eyes lingered on her, taking her in, before he said brightly, "Take care of the ship while I'm gone."

"Keep our line of communication open so I can speak to you if need be."

Amelia knew she was over-thinking everything, but there was a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach, like they were about to walk into a trap. Yet, according to the scan of the surrounding area, nothing threatening was within three kilometers, so she resigned herself to remaining alert in case something _did_ go wrong.

"Mhmm."

"And Peter." Peter glanced up from pulling on his gloves and met her gaze with a surprisingly serious expression. For a moment, he looked like that sad boy she'd met twenty-six years ago, and Amelia wanted to smooth back his hair and kiss his cheek like she used to do when they were children, but instead, she said neutrally, "Good luck."

He winked at her, all smiles again. "Thanks," he said as he jogged up the steps and into the cockpit. He looked back down at her. "I'll be right back."

With that, he pressed the button that opened the right window panel, and left before the cold rain could soak the interior of the _Milano_.

Amelia rushed upstairs to see him walk away. She watched as his form hunched into the whipping wind, and was glad he had his 'Star-Lord mask' on to allow him to breathe unhindered in the wind and block the rain from entering his eyes. The mask was designed to help him view coordinates and zoom in on an objective. It also enabled them to communicate.

After grabbing her earpiece off the ship's dashboard, she asked into it, "How you doing, Peter?"

Static buzzed lightly on her end before she heard his steady breathing. _"I'm not even five minutes out of the ship and you're asking me if I'm okay?"_ he responded. There was a long pause, then, _"I'm inside the Temple Vault and I'm going to go offline for a little while—"_

Annoyance flooded Amelia's system. "Peter, you said—" But the line went dead, and she could only assume he'd clicked off his mask. The moron was likely clipping on his cassette player and listening to his music right about now. She could picture him dancing around the ruins without a care in the world and the image made her huff in irritation. Everything was a joke to that man.

"Why do you do this to me, Peter?" she growled, muttering to herself. She was so focused on muttering under her breath that she didn't notice the two spaceships landing fifty meters away until it was almost too late. "Shit!" she hissed when she spotted them, quickly ducking down. When she was certain they'd landed, she edged to the window panels and peaked through them. "Oh no..."

They weren't just any spaceships. Their design was that of the Kree, which reminded her of a fly that had a large, round body with sharp wings on either side. They were bulky ships, yet durable and fast to an extent.

Amelia's worst fears were confirmed when a robotic-looking man and several Kree soldiers disembarked from the ships a few moments later. If the Kree were here, that meant there was serious trouble ahead. "Shit, shit, shit, shit," she whispered, scrambling to find her earpiece. It had fallen to the floor when she'd hidden behind her chair. "Peter, come in. Peter!" she said into it, but there was no response. He was still offline. "Damn it! Of all the times, Peter, this is the worst."

Raising herself to take another look through the window panel, she realized the Kree had taken note of the _Milano's_ presence. Three Kree soldiers were approaching the ship, likely ordered to inspect it and confirm whether or not there were passengers onboard.

Amelia rushed down the steps and into the common area to stay out of sight. Down in the common room, she could still keep an eye on the Kree using the _Milano's _exterior cameras linked to the mainframe. She booted up the screen on that level and was careful to leave her earpiece on in case Peter came back online. He probably would as soon as the Kree caught up with him in the vault, assuming they were after the orb too.

The screen loaded at a slower pace than normal due to the ship's hibernation and Amelia found herself panicking. "Hurry up!" she whispered frantically. The sooner she could lay her eyes on the Kree and know what they were doing, the better. She could hear them walking over the exterior shell of the ship, searching for a way to enter. She was relieved they couldn't enter without her permission, but feared they might try breaching the hull.

After a minute, the touchscreen flickered to life. Amelia tapped in her passcode and entered the mainframe, immediately searching for access to the cameras. She found what she was looking for in seconds, and brought them up on screen. The Kree soldiers had abandoned the hull and were now congregating by the wing of the ship, near the window panel's entryway.

Suddenly, Peter's voice crackled into the earpiece. _"Lia!"_ He sounded breathless and worried.

"Peter, there are Kree here!" she said, hoping she wasn't too late.

Shouting sounded through the line and there was a loud boom. _"I had a run in with them. Are you all right? I'm coming back to the ship!" _

Amelia wanted to slap him even though he wasn't there. She was on the ship, safe and sound, while he was probably running for his life, and he was worried about _her_? "I'm fine! Just hurry up!" She darted upstairs and into the cockpit, nearly banging both of her knees on the steps in the process, and slid into the copilot's seat. The Kree outside hadn't realized she was there yet, so she took advantage of that and put the ship back online. Its engines hummed to life and the lights flashed on, causing them to stumble away from the wing in surprise.

In the distance, she spotted Peter sprinting with the robotic man hot on his heels. His satchel banged against his side with each long stride he took, and she hoped that the orb was stashed away inside it.

The Kree beside the ship were confused by the sudden turn of events. They turned their backs on the _Milano_, and when they did, Amelia decided to take matters into her own hands. She eased the spaceship into a low hover and jerked it left so that the right wing clipped the Kree soldiers in the back and tossed them to the wet ground. The action gave Peter a clear shot and he jumped high into the air, over their stunned bodies, and slid through the window panel Amelia had opened seconds beforehand.

"Snap in!" Peter shouted once he was aboard, clicking off his mask and claiming the pilot's chair. He grabbed the pilot's flight stick, thus taking over the ship, and looked right to see what the Kree were doing.

"Peter!" Amelia yelled, noticing what had caught his attention.

The Kree had rapidly set up a blaster canon that was powerful enough to cripple compact spacecrafts, and it was aimed directly at her window panel. They fired, and she screamed.

Peter jerked back on the flight stick, causing the _Milano_ to lift into the sky just as the blast went off. The jet of green light missed the ship by inches, but Amelia, who hadn't snapped in in enough time, was tossed from her chair. She banged into the back on the cockpit and gasped out in pain. "Lia!" Peter shouted, looking over his shoulder at her. He sounded terrified. "Are you okay?"

They were speeding along the surface of Morag, trying to get out of firing range of the Kree's blaster canon. "I—I'm fine," she coughed. He unsnapped and was half-way out of his chair when she caught sight of something over his shoulder. Her eyes widened as she shouted, "Peter, look out!"

When he snapped out of his seat, a geyser chose that moment to erupt. Its turbulent waters hit the top and underbelly of the _Milano_, causing the ship to rocket hundreds of feet into the air and spin wildly as it ascended. Amelia and Peter were thrown around the cockpit; they pinged uncontrollably off the walls. Objects not bolted down to ship's floors slapped them in their faces and bounced around the interior of the room. They experienced the feeling of weightlessness for a split-second. Then, the ship plummeted out of the sky.

Amelia tried to grab hold of something. "The thrusters!" she shouted to Peter, who was grasping onto the back of the pilot's chair and desperately reaching for the thrusters' handle. His fingers touched it, then slipped. The ground grew closer and closer through the window panels. "Peter!"

At the last possible second, Peter grabbed the handle and slammed it forward. The stabilization of the ship caused Amelia to crack her head on a panel and slam into the ground. A fierce pain shot across her skull and she croaked out a gasp. After a few tense, quiet seconds, arms wrapped around her and lifted her off her stomach. It was Peter. "Lia, talk to me," he said, his voice full of concern.

She blinked up at him and realized he'd escaped unscathed while she was bleeding from her head. "That...that could have gone better," she said, wincing when he pressed something against her temple. She batted his hand away. "Stop it. I'm okay."

Peter didn't move. His green eyes gazed into hers while his fingers gently prodded the flesh around her injury. "You hit your head pretty good, Lia. You might need stitches."

"I can wait. Just get us out of here before those Kree find us."

He eyed her, ascertaining her overall awareness, and then lifted her as if she weighed nothing. If her heart hadn't already been pounding with adrenaline, she was certain it would have been by now. She was embarrassed, because of her current state and because she had screamed earlier; she hardly ever screamed in terror, considering the horrific situations they'd found themselves in over the past years. But staring down the barrel of a glowing blaster cannon had terrified her, and when they Kree had fired, she'd thought she was going to die.

Peter set her down in her chair and snapped her in. He busied himself by pressing a clean rag to her bleeding temple before claiming the pilot's chair and plugging in Xandar's coordinates. Then he put the ship on autopilot.

He was frowning, she noted.

"Peter?" someone asked from the back of the cockpit. "Peter, what happened? What's going on?"

Amelia froze in her seat. She recognized that accented voice. How could she _not _recognize that voice when it had kept her up into the early hours of the morning? Slowly, she twisted in her seat to see Bereet standing on the cockpit's steps, her head above the floor line. The Krylorian's hair was a mess and, upon closer inspection, Amelia noticed she was wearing Peter's old t-shirt.

Amelia's eyes flashed to the shirt's owner in question. "She's still here?" she shrieked, her voice uncommonly shrill. She was angry and it wasn't because Bereet was on the ship. She was angry because Peter had _lied_ to her about Bereet's presence and had gone behind her back.

Peter held up his hands in a placating gesture. "Hey, I'm going to be completely honest and say that I forgot she was here," he told her. His eyes flicked to Bereet. "I _did _ask you to leave. I told you I'd come back and get you...Amanda, Felicia...?"

"Bereet!" Bereet said, offended that he'd forgotten her name. The woman had such a hurt look on her face that even Amelia felt bad for her. It wasn't her fault Peter was a terrible 'boyfriend' and treated his one-night bimbos like crap. "And I fell back asleep!" She made a disgruntled sound and then pointed at him, "Take me to Xandar like you said, so I can get the hell off this ship!" With that, she left the cockpit.

The only thing Amelia was aware of was the Krylorian's parting words. Xandar. Peter had told her he'd take Bereet to Xandar, just as he'd said he would take _her _there. Unimaginable hurt washed through Amelia, and she leaned back in her seat, purposefully looking away from Peter so that he wouldn't see her tears. Maybe it was the blow to her head or the fact that she'd hardly slept the previous night, but she felt tired, broken, and hurt. She'd been so worried about Peter when he'd been in the Temple Vault and had not known the Kree were right behind him. Now she couldn't stand to look at him.

Peter hadn't moved, but she knew he was watching her. "Lia..."

"Don't talk to me," she whispered.

He didn't listen. "I'm sorry."

"You're not. You're only sorry you got caught," she said quietly. "Are you happy now? You lied to me. Are we even going to Yondu with the orb? Is that why you want to go to Xandar so bad? Because there's a decent bidder there that will give you more units than the Ravagers? Hell, were we even supposed to retrieve the orb by ourselves? Were the Ravagers supposed to meet us there?" She didn't let him answer because she knew she was right. It was all so clear now; she should have seen this coming. "Did you even get it?"

"I did."

Amelia let out a cold laugh. "Yondu will have our heads no thanks to you. And you went offline when I told you not to. You know, Peter...sometimes, I feel like you use me." She stood a little shakily, still facing away from him, and made for the stairs.

Peter's hand brushed her shoulder, but she tore it away. "Don't touch me!" she hissed, her anger rising in her in response to her hurt. She kept her back to him. "When we get to Xandar, I want my portion of the units."

"Why?"

"I'm done."

"What?" Peter asked, shock audible in his voice.

"You heard me. I said I'm done."

There was a sigh. "Lia, you're being dramatic."

Amelia whirled on him, not caring if he saw her tears. She glared and pointed her index finger at him. "You're an asshole, Peter. We've been in this together for twenty-six years, and you couldn't even find the decency to not go behind my back. This is all on you, and you know it."

Peter swallowed hard when he realized she was serious. "Come on, Lia... Look, I know I can be a dick—that I _am_ one—but don't go. Not now. Not after everything."

She wanted to accept his apologies. She truly did. But Peter was caught in that never ending cycle of relationships and, even if it wasn't his intention, he used people. It was the sad habit he had yet to break. She knew that he eventually move beyond that stage but she couldn't bear to wait any longer. She was at her breaking point.

"At least sleep on it, Lia?" Peter asked, searching for a bone.

She didn't throw him one. "I'll pack my things, and tomorrow, when we get to Xandar, I think it's best if we part ways for a while. Maybe once things have cooled off, we'll talk again."

Peter leaned against the wall so that he could catch her gaze. "Yondu will be looking for us, Lia. And those Kree know who I am and probably know who you are too. I don't want you to get hurt."

"You should have thought about that before you got us into this mess."

She carefully walked down the stairs and, for once, Peter was speechless.


	5. Chapter 4

_A/N: Thank you all for the love! You guys are wonderful :) I'm sorry for the delay. I've been going by memory for the movie's script and unfortunately, I can't find it online to use as a helpful template. I suppose I'll just have to wait until the movie comes out on DVD for some future scenes. Also, I'm interested in having a beta for this story. I'm still debating whether or not to have one, but if anyone is interested, please tell me. The next chapter will be longer! This was more of an interlude before Xandar. _

* * *

Yondu was not happy, that was for sure. It was extremely unfortunate that Bereet had decided to click on Peter's portable tablet and answer Yondu's ill-timed call. Now Peter and Amelia were dealing with a Centaurian with a very short fuse, and if his tone was anything to go by, he was about to explode.

"What are you up to, boy? Ravagers don't steal from each other. We have a code and we stick by it," Yondu spat on-screen. His metal mohawk was glowing bright red, and Amelia couldn't fault him for being pissed. The man had flown with his Ravagers to Morag and had found them gone and the orb missing. It was not a good day for him.

"All we _do_ is steal! " Peter retorted, growing more irritated by the second. He was dancing around the issue and although it was a good tactic most of the time, it wasn't going to work today.

Yondu was beyond consolable. He growled under his breath and pointed one of his dirty fingers at Peter. "You're gonna regret this, boy! And you!" His eyes flicked to Amelia. "I would have expected this from Peter, but from you too, _sweetheart_?"

"Leave Lia out of this, Yondu," Peter cut in, walking closer to the screen and folding his arms across his chest. "She didn't know anything about this."

Amelia stood from her seat at the common room's table. Her fury from earlier had cooled to a quiet rage in the past hour, and she felt drained from the day's previous events and just wanted to go to bed. Yet dealing with Yondu was more important right now. Maybe if she sweet-talked the ornery Centaurian, they would get out of this mess. He'd always been soft on her. "Look, Yondu...Peter made a mistake. Maybe we can work things out and no harm, no foul."

Peter shot her a look of disbelief. "What? No way!" He turned to Yondu's image and announced, "I'm keeping the orb." Then, before Yondu could shout at him, he ended the call on his portable tablet and clicked it off.

A resounding silence followed after and there was a harsh stare-down between Amelia and Peter. She glared whole-heartedly at him because he'd just made their situation ten times worse by hanging up on Yondu. Now the Ravagers would hunt them down and steal the orb back by any means necessary.

"You just dug our graves, Peter," Amelia said, breaking the tense silence. "I was trying to get us out of this, and you only made it worse! Now what are we going to do? You've marked us both!" She ran her hands through her locks and accidentally messed up her neat ponytail. "Ugh, the faster we get to Xandar, the better. Then I can get off this blasted ship."

Peter's hands curled into fists. "You're still serious about leaving?" he asked, frowning. "Lia, Yondu's coming after both of us, and that means we're both in danger. It's safer to stick together. Plus those Kree will be searching for me and they saw you operating the ship."

Amelia looked away from him. It was hard to speak with Peter when, less than an hour ago, she'd discovered his betrayal.

Thirty minutes ago, she'd been firm in her resolve to ignore him, but after talking to Yondu, she was worried. The Ravagers were not a forgiving group of people. They lived by a strict code and when one of their own broke it, there was always hell to pay. Yondu himself was not known for his generosity; when people crossed him, he wouldn't think twice about using his Yaka arrow to threaten or kill them. Growing up, they'd witnessed Yondu fell numerous traders and smugglers in the business. It had never been pretty, and Amelia would be lying if she said she wouldn't worry about what happened to Peter if she stayed on Xandar and let him go off on his own.

Sensing her indecision, Peter pressed his advantage. "Lia, you're right. I should have told you, and it was wrong of me to keep secrets from you. We've hit rougher patches before and you've never left. Don't go now. Not now..." He took a cautious step toward her, but she skirted his advance and sat down next to Bereet. The Krylorian woman had remained surprisingly quiet throughout the whole conversation. Her yellow eyes had observed them while they'd dealt with Yondu, and she now watched them with growing interest.

Amelia let out a long sigh. "I'm still mad, Peter..." She pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes. "This isn't something that can be fixed right away. Anyway, I'll be safe if I stay in the capital. Maybe I'll finally join the Nova Corps' academy; the Corps is always looking for new pilots."

Peter did not answer her, and she was grateful for the peace. She did not have the energy to fully explain her plan and, in a moment of exhaustion, she forgot about the nasty cut near her temple. She accidently brushed it with her fingers and a hiss of pain escaped her lips. Peter heard her and rummaged through a drawer, pulling out their first aid kit. "I still need to take a look at that," he told her, perching himself on the seat beside her. Bereet eyed him with displeasure but shifted to accommodate him.

"Peter, no. It's fine."

"Lia, let me look at it," Peter objected, swatting her hand away from her temple when she went to touch it. "Don't touch it; you might get it infected." He ripped into a disinfectant packet and said cautiously, "This is going to sting."

Nodding, Amelia braced herself.

Peter gently tapped the disinfectant over the laceration. He was careful not to wipe away the coagulated blood on the wound and he apologized when she flinched from the sharp sting. "I don't want to cover it. It's best to let it breathe, so we'll use these," he said, holding up a pair of butterfly bandages. They'd come in handy over the past years and were the best option since she didn't require stitches. She nodded, and let him place two butterfly bandages over the cut. "Just be sure not to mess with the bandages, or else you might make it worse and need sutures."

"I know."

Peter's hand lingered on her cheek before falling onto his lap. When Amelia glanced up at him, he quickly stood, picked up the kit, and left the common area. She watched his retreating form until it disappeared up the stairs and then tore her eyes away from him to see Bereet studying her.

"Well aren't you two cozy," the Krylorian murmured.

"You know nothing," Amelia answered, immediately on the defense.

Bereet laughed. She brushed her hair over her shoulder and leaned forward until she was face-to-face with Amelia. "You're in denial," she whispered, playfully bopping Amelia on the nose. It felt more like a mean flick.

"Don't touch me!" Amelia snapped. She rose from her seat and stormed into her bedroom, ignoring Peter's call of 'what's going on?' from upstairs.

As soon as she shut the door, she leant against it and buried her face in her hands. What was wrong with her? When had she become so emotional? It had been a trying day and the blow to her head probably didn't help matters at all, but that was not an excuse for her to be so temperamental. She wasn't a dramatic woman or a person for flair like Peter was. Yondu hadn't allowed for many displays of emotion on his spaceship when they'd grown up. He couldn't handle warm feelings or gooey, mushy words. He could handle anger, though, and she had a lot of that.

It was no secret that she was livid with Peter. The man had deceived her; he'd manipulated her like he'd manipulated Bereet. He hadn't told her about his true plan for the orb and on top of that, he had hung Xandar in front of her, hoping she'd take the bait and have no knowledge of his deal with Bereet. She couldn't understand why he did it. They'd never lied to each other before—not about something so important. She didn't know where to go from here. How could she trust Peter now?

With a groan, she shuffled her way over to her bed and fell fully-clothed on top of her sheets. If she had her way, she'd sleep for days. Perhaps if she went to bed, she'd wake up and find this was all just a horrible nightmare.

There was a light knock on her door.

In that moment, she wanted to cry and curse the person knocking for their cruel timing. The door swung open, and she saw that it was Peter. She mumbled vehemently under her breath as he stepped into her room. "What?" she asked, exhausted and barely able to keep her eyes open.

Peter took hold of her shoulder and shook it to grab her attention. "You can't go to sleep for a little while, Lia. You might have a concussion," he said. When she didn't move, he poked her leg. "Come on. Upsy-daisy."

"Urghhhahhh," she murmured, rolling over and trying to burrow under her blankets.

"What was that?" Peter sounded amused.

"I said...go away. I'm...upset...with you."

"You'll be more upset with me if you wake up a month from now after slipping into a coma. Now, time to get up," he teased, sounding more light-hearted than earlier.

Amelia groaned into her pillow. This man enjoyed tormenting her! "No," she retorted like a petulant child. "Now go awa—_what are you doing!?_" she shrieked, snapping fully awake and wrapping her arms around his neck. He'd lifted her unceremoniously off her bed and was now proceeding to carry her out of her room. "Peter, put me down!" Her leg hit the wall with a loud _thunk_.

"Oops," Peter laughed. "Sorry."

"Asshole!"

"Please, please," Peter said, acting like he was accepting praise. "Call me Star-Lord." He smirked at her answering look of incredulity and continued to carry her into the common room, which (thankfully) held no sign of Bereet. He would have attempted to haul her up the stairs too, but she demanded to be put down before he 'accidentally' banged her head against the steep stairwell. He did as she asked and set her down. Then, he followed her up the stairs and into the cockpit, making sure she didn't lose her footing on the way up.

"I'm still angry," she reminded him as she claimed the copilot's chair.

Peter took his seat, his eyes never leaving her form. "I know...but I thought you might like this view," he said, drawing her attention to the front window panels. She rolled her eyes but followed his gaze to the galaxy before them.

They were passing through a frequented quadrant that was known for its exploding stars. As a result of the explosions, gas and other forms of energy permeated deep space for hundreds of miles. Bright colors of absinthe, amaranth, and titian swirled off the remnants of once massive stars that had long since collapsed. It was astonishing—even more so when Amelia considered the fact that none of the stars had become black holes upon their deaths.

"Do you remember that time we almost got caught in that black hole?" Peter wondered, his thoughts evidently following hers.

Amelia looked over to see him grinning at the memory. She found herself smiling as well. "It was worse than that time we almost flew into that wormhole," she answered.

He chuckled and let his head hit the back of his seat. "You were so scared we'd hit the event horizon and die once we reached the hole's gravitational singularity. What did you call it again?"

"Spaghettification," she said, thinking back to that day. She'd been so terrified, she'd nearly peed herself. But Peter didn't have to know that.

Peter snapped his fingers and sat up, laughing. "That's right! We never went near one again after that. You were so scared."

Amelia raised an eyebrow at him. "Who wouldn't be? That was the scariest thing that's ever happened to us, Peter. I truly thought we were going to fall into that black hole and die."

Peter said nothing for a while. He gazed out over the stars ahead of the _Milano_, soaking in their magnificence as he relaxed. It was a few minutes before he spoke again, this time his voice unnaturally soft, "Lia...I want to have more memories like that. I don't want you to go."

Amelia swallowed down the lump in her throat. She kept her eyes trained through the window panels, on the mixture of gases that were caught suspended in time. She didn't want to think about leaving Peter, but she was hurting and she needed some time to herself. Time away from Peter would be healthy, even if it was only for a short period. To her, it wasn't really a question of whether or not she would leave; to her, it was a question of how long she'd be gone.

"I just think I need a break, Peter," she whispered, unwantedly thinking about all the women he'd brought aboard the ship in the past few months.

Peter sighed in resignation. "Just don't go right away. Come with me to my contact, so I can split the units with you after the exchange. You deserve your half. Okay?"

She didn't want to, but when she caught Peter's eye, she didn't have the heart to say no.

"Okay..."


End file.
